News

Kiowa County Board of Health Director Kerri Ulrich announced that the department has administered 203 free COVID tests since January 1 during a special board of health meeting last month. Enrollment in the Community Testing Program provides free testing supplies and a small reimbursement fee for each test given by the Department, and the program is guaranteed through the end of March. The department also has procured 200 inhome COVID rapid testing kits available for pick up, free of charge to county residents. To date, the Department has administered 3,100 COVID shots; 58% of the county has received at least one COVID shot and 54% with a completed series of three shots.

MANHATTAN, Kan. — Just as the mail carrier delivers the letters in all types of weather, so too must beef producers be able to respond to the climate impacts on the herd. With the low amounts of moisture that Kansas has experienced in the fall and winter, the experts at Kansas State University’s Beef Cattle Institute said now is the time to be thinking about management strategies for a drought on a recent Cattle Chat podcast discussion.

Derese McAbee is a busy bee around Pratt. As activities director at the Pratt Public Library, she can be on any given week found conducting cooking classes, organizing maker zone crafts, or even preparing space for magic shows. This past month however, she brought Bob Ross of public-television-painting-fame back to life in the form of painting classes that have become wildly popular among the art-seekers of Pratt.

** DRAFT ** The Stafford County Board of County Commissioners met in regular session on Wednesday, February 23rd, 2022, in the Commission Room in the Annex. Chairman Wycoff called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m.

Kansas Dirt Inc. is a dirt construction company located at 337 North US Highway 281 in St. John, Kansas. The company offers a multitude of services and has assisted the local communities in everything from demolishing condemned houses to hauling debris, collecting trash, digging ponds and much more. Kansas Dirt equipment has even been known to hoist an American flag higher than any other in a show of local patriotism.

Monday February 28, 11:59 p.m. is the application deadline for grants from the State of Kansas’ Building a Stronger Economy (BASE) program. This state program, which was created to assist in economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, funds infrastructure projects by county and local governments. Pratt will be putting in a grant application for the construction of a new water well.

Kathleen Norman may not have a green thumb but she does have a gift for growing things, whether they be in a development group or in a garden tray. “I have not had success with gardening or house plants before,” Norman said.

The Taqueria Chavez Food Truck, located straight south of the intersection of First Street (U.S. Highway 54/400) and U.S. Highway 61 on the east side of Pratt, is expanding their business. Open on weekdays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Nancy Diaz and crew have been serving authentic Mexican food from their food trailer for more than a year now. They are moving into the former Creative Memories building located just east of where their food truck sits and will provide sit-down options for customers.